2000 MILKEN EDUCATOR
AWARD RECIPIENTS
CHARLA FAULKNER CREWS
Meadville Elementary School – Nathalie, VA
Thanks to the efforts of second-grade teacher Charla Faulkner Crews, Meadville Elementary School in Nathalie is recognized as one of the region’s top schools in improving student performance. As Lead Teacher for curriculum, instruction and staff development, Mrs. Crews collects and disseminates resources for teaching, conducts weekly study groups with fellow teachers, and develops tools to help her colleagues incorporate the state’s social studies standards. To maximize the benefits of parental involvement, she developed an after-school tutorial program for students and parents, and presents workshops for parents at a local church. A consultant for the State Department of Education, Mrs. Crews chairs the Project Idea Screening Committee and the Communication Committee. She also serves on the Planning and School Improvement Teams.
STEVEN T. JACKSON
Spotswood Elementary School – Harrisonburg, VA
Principal Steven T. Jackson has created a powerful learning environment for students, staff and families at Spotswood Elementary School in Harrisonburg, where many students come from high-poverty households with limited English proficiency. To improve the school’s results on the state’s Standards of Literacy tests, Mr. Jackson enrolled his entire faculty and staff in a course on developmental literacy that translated into significant gains in student reading skills. He has piloted several innovations at Spotswood Elementary, from a successful looping program to a school-based Head Start Center with an extended day concept. Mr. Jackson holds a Principal’s Advisory night where parents are invited to review the school’s budget, state test scores, and the biennial school plan.
DEBORA A. LASSITER
John Tyler Elementary School – Portsmouth, VA
Teacher Debora A. Lassiter’s dynamic research-based instruction and professional expertise recently helped her third grade students at John Tyler Elementary School earn the highest Standards of Learning scores in the city of Portsmouth. As her school’s grade-level chair and a frequent mentor and trainer of new teachers, she has written standards-aligned curriculum for both science and social studies which she shares with colleagues at the local and national levels. During the time that Ms. Lassiter chaired the School Improvement Team, John Tyler Elementary was recognized as the system’s most-improved school. A former president of the PTA and a teacher representative to the state Bar Association, she assisted in developing the school system’s Crisis Management Manual and co-authored a social studies review booklet.
E. WADE WHITEHEAD, JR.
Crystal Spring Elementary School – Roanoke, VA
E. Wade Whitehead, Jr., third-grade teacher at Crystal Spring Elementary School in Roanoke, infuses technology into a curriculum that is effectively aligned with Virginia’s Standards of Learning. As the school’s technology coordinator, he has helped many fellow teachers integrate technology across the curriculum and created an after-school technology club which he also sponsors. A National Board Certified teacher, Mr. Whitehead is director of the city’s Summer Honors program, which has served as a training ground for several teachers. He was selected by his staff to represent them on the Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Council, and chaired the school’s site-based council for two years. Mr. Whitehead often serves as guest instructor to practicing and pre-service teachers at nearby universities.